You're correct.....a lot of "older' off-highway equipment used cork-faced clutches (as well as brake discs) that ran in oil. Usually ATF, and applied constantly by a pump, spraying the disc......and also circulated through a cooler. Not sure, anymore, what the usual operating temperature was supposed to be, but, if you touched any of the components...you got blisters ! Those type of discs lasted for years..unless they "ran dry" ("operator error !), and then they would burn up in a matter of hours.

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There's nothing wrong with a few "F's" on your record....Food, Fun, Flowers, Fishing, Friends, and Fun....to name just a few !

They were using cork round cones to drive shearing plants for many years, the cone with a round metal fly wheel, neats foot oil was used to make them grip, we used to flood the cone with it, took a while to soke the neetsfoot oil up, but it would grip really good, cheers Don.

I use to use a good reliable provider in Taiwan - they went bust last year - still looking for a new provider.

I did contact Avcarb but they would only ship vast quantities of their product and at highly inflated shipping costs plus customs tax - I'm not that rich

I have used a UK made Kevlar drag material with good results. Several of my reels are still using it. It is like a machinable stiff sheet of pressed fibre material - not the familiar woven stuff. I have only used the 1mm thickness - it is available in many thicknesses.I believe Dawn uses the Avcarb product - perhaps she can source some of the thicker stuff

Ahh, but I think they always use a binder along with the cork for the granular sheets. Usually polyurethane. I was expecting that there needs to be a binder that is reasonably heat resistant, and also not too abrasive where it might come into contact with the disk. But maybe I am thinking too much.

One other quick unrelated point on the properties of cork drags. The cork can permanently compress is stored with the the drag tightened. It is important to store cork drag reels wit the drag backed all the way off.

Does anybody have the original manuals/paperwork for an old cork lever drag reel? I am curious as to what was originally recommended for maintenance. this topic has come up more than once.

Ahh, but I think they always use a binder along with the cork for the granular sheets. Usually polyurethane. I was expecting that there needs to be a binder that is reasonably heat resistant, and also not too abrasive where it might come into contact with the disk. But maybe I am thinking too much.

Idunno, maybe. I spoke with a cork company guy many years ago; he said they didn't use any special binders; they just press it... the granules bind by way of some inherent ingredient. Cork sap resin or something. Pure, safe and natural.

Edit: A quick google shows this to be true. They can use heat and pressure to do it natural-wise, OR with a number of other binders or resins, depending on application.

Totally blown away and grateful for all the really solid comments on this topic! Ive been "work" traveling non stop for the last month and put this project on hold. I just opened-up this topic for the first time since Keta posted his offer and now my mind is flooded with all the plus's and minus's of whats going to be a fun progect for a fun reel I've had a long memorable history with.